Thursday, January 2, 2014

Learning to be a professional cook (2nd in a series)

SPARKY’S BLOG

1-2-14

Learning
to be a professional cook (2nd in a series)

One of the
very cool things that are offered to the employees at the Omni here in Indy is
a full-fledged cafeteria that is completely free. Offerings included 2 hot proteins, 1
hot vegetable and 1 hot starch in addition to a salad bar and
fresh daily soup.

When you
first come into the Omni kitchen you are first-and-foremost going to prep, prep
and more prep. As you grow into yourself
as a cook and management gets a sense of comfort regarding your skills is when
you start getting a stab at making items for the Café. Even though the entrées are free; they can’t
be too high in fat and one must be cognizant of food allergies and gluten
restrictions not to mention the taste must be delicious.

Experimenting at the Omni .....

..... with plate presentations

Once you
get an assignment to cook for the employees is when you understand that you’re
in favor with the Executive Chef and you’d better not screw it up.

My first
attempt was to utilize some leftover beef round that had been roasted the prior
day. The quandary in my mind was to make
it kind of special without going overboard and remembered my grandpa always
saying how delicious stroganoff is while being stupidly simple to make. I was shooting from the hip as access to the
internet (computers) for a good recipe was locked up in the offices (we get in very
early – 6am) so I really just closed my eyes and imagined biting into a mouthful
of stroganoff and suddenly the flavors started coming forward.

Two of my favorite guys at the Omni - Jason and Joe

Sour cream,
mushrooms and grainy mustard are the 3 main flavors in my mind so I set out to
find “said” ingredients and realized we didn't have any mushrooms at all! We had sour cream and grainy mustard in
spades but no mushrooms. What we DID
have was an enormous amount of cream of mushroom soup and I was set. I added some onions, garlic and a splash of
white wine and the dish came out pretty good.
I only got one compliment but that was from the General Manager of the
hotel so I was satisfied (somewhat). I immediately
began figuring out how to make it better and with lesser ingredients as well as
how to do it faster. I guess I’m in the
right profession if I’m obsessed with making it better eh?

My next
foray was to make a soup that wasn't on the menu because our purchasing manager
was ill the day before and the ingredients weren't ordered. Okay, now I’m being tested (I think?). I once again hearkened back to my roots and
remembered my grandmother who would, seemingly, pull deliciousness out of thin
air by roasting vegetables for more flavor and puree them in a beef or chicken
stock (I added demi-glace and a little Sriracha). Half the folks loved it the other half said
it was too hot. I loved the feedback and
immediately understood the varying tastes of the folks you cook for aren't always the same. This lesson would serve
me well in my next job.

My work area .... Amy was awesome help!

One morning
I read a note that gave me a huge amount of pride as I was to prepare the
entire buffet that day. I was happy
because you usually aren't asked to do that if you make food that is unfit and
pallid. The menu was set and the
ingredients were all there so all I had to do was cook and assemble which came
together nicely because I was in a great mood the entire time. It’s pretty cool when you love what you
do. I made sure not to get too carried
away and make the food my own by getting too spicy or introduce my “style”
so-to-speak.

I received
no feedback that day and felt a bit despondent as my sous chef said “hey, dude –
no news is good news”…..’Nuff said.

From that
point on I cooked the employee meals as well as ordered the food and
participated in banquets. I really
racked up the hours but more importantly, I racked up some serious experience
and priceless confidence.

Sometimes you gotta laugh in the kitchen!

My
executive chef exclaimed that the reasoning behind my success was that I didn'tover-think the job and admired that I followed orders. Fact is, I wanted badly to veer away from the
standard recipes and create sensational dishes but that’s not what was
necessary for that role in the kitchen. We
often times are our own worst enemy when we get too smug with our own boastful
swagger.